White Tara is a deity in Buddhist folklore, from Tibet. White Tara (Skt. Sītā Tārā; Tib. Jetsün Dölma) is a principal form of the bodhisattva/buddha Tara in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism, venerated as an enlightened female meditation deity associated with long life, healing, and the pacification of disease and defilement. She is invoked in mandala visualization, mantra recitation, and initiation/empowerment practices.
In the Vajrayāna/Pañcayāna devotional-hagiographic corpus recorded in the sources, White Tara is an emanation within the Tara corpus of enlightened feminine buddhas. One account in museum/hagiographic material presents certain Tara forms as born from a compassionate tear of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, situating White Tara among the bodhisattva emanations rather than as a secular spirit. Sources present her origin as part of tantric mandalic genealogies rather than as a historical event.
Sources depict White Tara as a serene female buddha-figure, typically white in color (Sanskrit sīta = white/pure). Iconography noted in the materials includes a seated posture, delicate/meditative expression, and mandalic attributes such as Amitābha depicted in her headdress and other buddhas placed in her mandala. Certain pacifying variants are described as multi-faced and multi-armed—for example a three-faced, twelve-armed White Tara described in the literature as 'peaceful' and particularly associated with pacification of disease and defilement. White Tara is represented in thangka and statue form and may appear with seed syllables and vajra symbolism used in visualization practice.
The sources consistently present White Tara as a compassionate saviouress and enlightened meditation deity whose primary functions are healing, prolonging life, and pacifying disease, defilement, and worldly or spiritual danger. She is invoked in meditation and ritual (including mandala visualization and mantra recitation) to confer longevity, merit, and protection; she 'hears the cries of beings in saṃsāra and saves them' (per the cited encyclopedia entry). Mandalic placements (e.g., Amitābha in her headdress) and tantric initiation practices in the sources indicate her role as an object of transformative visualization in Vajrayāna soteriology.
Weaknesses
None recorded.
Wards
- mantraOm Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayur Jnana Punye Putim Kuru Soha
Green Tara
Green Tara (Tārā, Ārya Tārā, Jetsün Dölma) is a central female buddha/bodhisattva figure in Mahāyāna and especially Vajrayāna Buddhism, venerated as a liberator who grants swift assistance, removes obstacles, and functions as a meditation deity (yidam) embodied in green form.
Amitābha
Amitābha is a central celestial Buddha of Mahayana Buddhism who presides over the western Pure Land called Sukhāvatī. Devotional practices invoking his 'measureless' light and life (nianfo/nembutsu) are presented in Pure Land traditions as a path by which beings may be reborn in his buddhafield and quickly attain Buddhahood.
*Perkʷūnos
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*Péh₂usōn (reconstructed)
Péh₂usōn is a hypothetical Proto‑Indo‑European pastoral guardian reconstructed by comparative scholars from parallels in Greek and Vedic traditions. Proposed as a Graeco‑Aryan ancestor‑figure, the reconstruction describes a protector of flocks, roads, and travellers rather than an attested historical cultic personality.
57 Mnemosyne
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Abaddon
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Aban Yasht
The Aban Yasht is a hymn from the Persian tradition that praises Anahita, a goddess associated with water, fertility, and wisdom. It consists of 132 stanzas and is part of the 21 Yashts collection. (Note: - Power tier should be "Primordial" or possibly "Cosmic", given that it's a hymn of great spiritual significance and associated with a goddess. - The article incorrectly states that Anahita is associa)
Abath
No corroborated folkloric entity named "Abath" is documented in the provided sources. The string appears in the supplied material only as a surname/personal name in Aruban/Dutch-Caribbean archival records and as an unrelated taxonomic or encyclopedic hit; no mythic attributes, origin stories, rituals, or apotropaic practices for an entity called Abath are present in the documents reviewed.
Abatur
Abatur is an uthra (celestial emanation) in Mandaeism described as the 'father of the Uthras' and called the Ancient (ʿattīqā). He resides on the boundary between the World of Light and lower regions, functions as a judge who weighs souls (Abatur Muzania), and supplies instructions and materials to the demiurgic uthra Ptahil in accounts from the Diwan (Scroll) of Abatur.
Abatwa (Twa / Batwa)
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Abellio
Abellio is a theonym attested in Roman‑period inscriptions from the Comminges area of the Pyrenees and reported as worshipped in the Garonne Valley of ancient Gallia Aquitania. Surviving evidence is limited to a small number of inscriptions; scholars have variously hypothesized solar or arboreal associations and compared the name to forms of Apollo or to Celtic Belenus, but the deity's precise role in local cosmology remains uncertain.
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the foundational patriarchal ancestor in the Hebrew Bible whose life establishes a covenantal relationship between his family/people and God. He functions as an exemplar of faith, the progenitor of promised descendants, and a narrative anchor for claims of land, blessing, and communal identity in later religious traditions.
Abraun
Abraun is an attested name in German-language plant-legend scholarship (Der abraun, ein beitrag zur pflanzensagenkunde, 1916) and a short database entry (Wikidata) labels it as a spirit from German mythology. Surviving accessible documentation is extremely limited: the principal academic treatment is a 1916 contribution to pflanzensagenkunde (plant-saga studies), but the excerpts available here contain only bibliographic metadata and do not record tales, descriptions, or rituals.
Abtin
Abtin (Persian: آبتین), attested also as Athwya, is a mythic ancestral figure in Iranian tradition described in Avestan and later epic literature as one of a small set of formative human-like figures involved in preparing the corporeal world and as the father of the epic hero-king Fereydun in the Shahnama.
Community Record
- [1]Tara (Buddhism) — Wikipedia. Wikipedia: Tara (Buddhism) — entry on Tara describing Tara as a saviouress and noting multi-armed/multi-faced White Tara variantswiki
- [2]White Tara | Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Museum of Art: object description and iconographic notes on White Tara representationsother
- [3]White Tara mantra and seed syllables. VisibleMantra: notes on name (Sītā Tārā), mantra forms, mandala notes including Amitābha in her headdressother
- [4]Mantras and Teaching from Garchen: White Tara, Green Tara, and the Original Tara. Dharmapaths forum post quoting White Tara mantra 'Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayur Jnana Punye Putim Kuru Soha' and discussing practice lineagesother
- [5]White Tara — Buddhamuseum product/description. BuddhaMuseum object/product description describing White Tara as associated with long life and healingother
- [6]Xiazhulin Monastery archive (Tara emanation/relic account). Xiazhulin Monastery archive describing an incorruptible Tara emanation enshrined at the monastery (used as an example of Tara relic veneration)other
- [7]Dharma Wheel forum — White Tara initiation discussions. Practitioner forum discussion referencing initiation into White Tara and questions about transmission/empowermentother
- [8]White Tara Thangka — Radiant Heart Studios product page. Contemporary thangka/statuary description used in sources to demonstrate devotional and material culture around White Taraother